Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 72

Chapter Highlights: The Match of Fate

“Wow, it’s just a series of surprises! Friede takes the second set! Gunther relentlessly chased after Friede armed with a ranged weapon, but that very obsession led to his downfall. He gets caught off guard by Friede’s lightning-fast parrying timing. Truly, it’s a play like a dagger hidden in one’s bosom! What do you two commentators think?”

“Gunther was certainly rattled by the impact of his crushing defeat in the first set. It felt like he was forcing himself a bit too much. Of course, the crossbow doesn’t surpass the limits of a ranged weapon, but considering how Friede has established her name with outstanding plays, she should have narrowed the distance and been cautious in her attacks—what a shame. On the flip side, Friede executed a brilliant mind game. No one expects a parrying attempt with a standard dagger, an auxiliary weapon for ranged combat.”

“That dagger is just an auxiliary weapon, so it doesn’t perform as well as a selected dagger. It’s especially weak for parrying, you see. But Friede, having showcased numerous parrying mad movies with her Broken Greatsword, certainly made a statement again this time. Honestly, Gunther didn’t do poorly at all in the second set. With that equipment, his style was the best approach against a ranged opponent like Friede. In fact, he didn’t expend much health dodging countless bolt projectiles until he got in close. I can’t help but wish he had fought with a buckler or a small shield instead.”

The commentators were fueling the excitement of the match.

Contrary to the ridiculous development of the first set, the second set featured a series of unfamiliar combat exchanges,

which was more than enough to satisfy the already elevated expectations of the crowd.

Especially, the final clash and the reversal from the parrying had the spectators roaring with excitement.

As everyone eagerly awaited the next match, Gunther spent a quiet moment meditating in the player waiting room.

This could be his last match.

The initial thrill had long faded, replaced with unnecessary anxiety and restlessness, leaving his body and mind exhausted.

Friede.

At first glance, she might appear to be obsessed with her concept, but that was an entirely different issue.

She was confident in everything, allowing her to choose any weapon she fancied.

Unlike the typical attention-seekers who self-destruct by choosing unviable weapons in favor of their concept, her path was different.

Having gambled and lost, Gunther’s resolve naturally began to waver.

Hesitation.

Having already challenged and failed spectacularly, that subsequent feeling came along.

‘What should I do?’

Initially, he had thought he’d engage with showmanship and fight in style, but

that thought had long since vanished beyond the world.

But what could he do? He couldn’t just retreat like this.

‘Right. I have to go.’

If he was going to lose anyway, he would at least let his final performance bloom beautifully.

As the third set approached, Gunther stepped into the arena.

At that moment.

“Oh, did you rest well?”

A cheerful greeting from Friede put Gunther on edge for some reason.

At first, he didn’t realize it, but after continuously aiming weapons and fighting, he understood.

This woman has a certain intimidating presence.

In her casual demeanor, Gunther sensed something that made him reluctant to act carelessly.

‘It’s not the bravado you see in cartoons.’

Was he getting jittery from losing consecutively? Yet, this feeling felt too real, so he couldn’t muster any words in response to Friede’s greeting.

“Hmm, we’re already at the third set. Too bad we can’t use crossbows due to the weapon limit of two.”

It was quite refreshing to see someone openly struggling to use any other ranged weapons.

So, there are weapons that this person can’t use.

“What do you want to do?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Since it’s the last match, how about we toss aside the concept stuff and just go all out? No need to think about the rest.”

At first, he tilted his head, not quite grasping what she meant.

So…

“Are you suggesting we match our equipment ahead of time?”

“Not exactly, just that we pick weapons we’re confident with and do a real showdown. What do you say?”

Normally, he would have readily accepted the idea, but somehow he struggled to voice a reply.

If he agreed, it would feel like he was conceding defeat…

“I’ll pick the Lion Knight’s Greatsword with heavy armor this time. It’s up to you, Gunther, whether to match or counter.”

With that, Friede turned to leave for the arena first, leaving Gunther staring blankly at her back.

The first match was one he simply gave away, but from the second match onward, he had done his best.

Yet, he still found himself collapsing onto the cold ground without finding a decisive hit.

Despair resurfaced anew. It wasn’t merely despair born of failure.

It was that self-loathing realization that even with such a quirky concept she could play so freely… his skills must be pathetic.

Friede certainly wasn’t treating this like a serious match against him.

Looking back, it was quite humorous.

The weapons she had used until now had all shown performance flaws.

Perhaps the only one who had faced her with a properly functioning weapon was Haldir.

Gunther had long since thrown away the ideas of Friede’s allure or her pride as the 120th ranked player.

“How can she just say that and act like it’s nothing?”

It was truly malicious.

***

Gunther, lost in thought, snapped back to reality the moment he unconsciously picked the equipment he usually favored and faced Friede.

He hadn’t even thought about how to tackle the third match, yet the game had already begun.

‘Oh well, I don’t know.’

Against her monstrous skills, psychological tactics or build-ups were pointless anyway.

Let’s just fight relying on instincts and gut feelings.

Casting aside all thoughts, Gunther charged straight ahead.

The weapons of the two warriors collided in the air,

and as Gunther flailed around with sword strikes from angles while being forced back with his shield,

it was like a desperate, reckless play to find an opening.

With Gunther’s sword working like a diligent mosquito, Friede calmly shifted her weight to respond.

‘Go ahead and try to parry.’

With a stunning trajectory, the elegant arc of the curved sword shone bright.

Unlike Gunther, whose health was visibly dwindling, it was clear that he had the upper hand in health bars.

It was the moment where pure skill, stripped of unnecessary strategies and concepts, began to shine through.

“…!”

Friede’s massive sword changed its movement as she assessed the situation and deemed she could no longer withstand the onslaught.

Rather than trying to keep up with soft attacks, she unleashed raw power on the predicted path, flooding forth with strong blows.

—Boom!

Of all things, that strike landed at the most exquisite angle.

‘Damn!’

Grumbling about his lousy luck, Gunther gripped his weapon and shield tightly, meeting the blow head-on.

—Crash!

“Ugh!”

An involuntary grunt escaped him.

The crushing force of a giant weapon descending from above was no more familiar to him, even if it was in virtual reality.

As he attempted to deflect the overwhelming might of the Lion Knight’s Greatsword with his shield, he swung his curved sword at Friede’s neck with all his might.

But the more pressing threat was the way Friede moved.

The horizontal swing from Friede’s curved sword just grazed her bent back.

It wouldn’t be a lethal strike, and if he wasted his turn, he’d only have to greet a counter.

As Friede unfurled her body, her full swing with the Greatsword came crashing down from above.

—Bang!

“Ugh!”

Gunther was sent sprawling backwards in the air.

He landed but in that moment of losing balance, Friede capitalized.

If he continued to take hits like this, his stamina would drain, and it was predictable what would become of him, so Gunther clenched his teeth.

‘Looks like it’s going to be a brawl.’

Even in a half-collapsed stance, he forcibly steadied himself to meet her advance.

Continuously defending, dodging, and attacking, the bloodbath unfolded.

Gunther lost track of how much time had passed.

All he could recall in the end was…

—Thrust!

The finishing stab, seeing Friede evade with a leap while her sword came crashing down from above.

Just before collapsing, Gunther thought to himself.

If he was definitely a celestial ranker, but only moderately strong,

then there were undeniably those who were not ordinary.

He had felt that sensation with Warden, Lotus…

But now, in front of this woman,

‘She’s not normal.’

—Bang!

Friede’s final blow ended the game, slicing Gunther’s body diagonally.

***

[Highlight Review of the Third Set]

Author: Thin and Lean

Well, the first set was ridiculous,

but the second set felt like it ended in an instant,

and the third set was honestly a super fun match.

Friede, wielding the Greatsword with strong jump attacks, was powerful like the Lion Knight.

Gunther had a Scimitar capable of hit-and-run along with a round shield.

The most crucial element when using the Lion Knight’s Greatsword is controlling the distance.

To unleash its unique power, you must have a proper distance; if you’re too close, you might just leap over the enemy. Sure enough.

Knowing this, Gunther pressed on with the brawl as much as he could.

What’s interesting here is that since Gunther played as he usually would, he made decent in-fight exchanges.

Of course, there was the speed difference in weapon attacks, and with Gunther having a shield, it was inevitable that this scenario would unfold.

If it were dual-wielding, the Lion Knight’s Greatsword could aim for the trademark one-hit reversal of greatswords…

In reality, she did land some predicted heavy strikes against Gunther. Had he not had a shield, he would have gone down.

Circling back to the main point, let’s not forget that Friede has shattered countless impossible scenarios in the game so far.

What’s crucial here is that the interactions with her have exposed a relatively normal setup that could have been expected in Soul Warfare.

Since Gunther is such a top-tier ranker, it remains uncertain how the next battle will unfold,

but perhaps there’s hope that Lotus could break Friede’s undefeated legacy.

Ziggurt: The first set was so unexpected; I gave it away willingly, but in the second set, Friede was on the backfoot.

Nudda: For reals, if she hadn’t succeeded in parrying there, she would have been the one to fall.

Simplicity: That’s partly due to match-ups and should be considered since Friede had a busted concept set-up.

Yeah: I thought it was a bit unexpected… I thought both the Challenger and Lotus would demolish everything.

Sunshine Sword: That’s how things should be normally; she shattered the unreasonable situations until now.

General Toothpick: I heard the disparity between lower and upper challengers is severe, and it seems that’s true.

Kim Bangle: Now that you mention it, aside from Gunther, all the challengers that Friede faced so far have been lower ranks. Hades was the only mid-tier.

Yeah: Hades did, however, put up a decent fight against Friede.

After the 16-round first match ended, the community buzzed with talks about Friede and Gunther’s match.

The next day, the 16-round second match wrapped up, leading into the quarterfinals that would begin in two days.

Who would Friede’s next opponent be? Many were already speculating potential qualifiers for the second round.

Amidst the excessive attention fueled by fan loyalty and contempt, the chaos ensued where insults and player demeaning emerged.

“Cheers!”

Sehee opened a can of beer, celebrating victory while watching from the window.

***